CAP rank coins

[foo]

I just came across these while browsing on Vanguard:



I haven't seen these in the wild. What are appropriate or traditional uses for these rank coins in CAP?  Is there something similar in the military?

[Eclipse]

They are challenge coins, and these specific ones are generally presented to a servicemember (in this case CAP),
upon promotion.

They are usually either presented, or exchanged, as a token of a shared experience, completing
a complex task, or meeting someone of note.

Here's more detail on challenge coins:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenge_coin

Examples of CAP situations where you might receive one:

NESA
Encampment, NCSA, or similar staff service
As noted many units have coins.
Completing TLC, or similar adult Education or Training
Meeting the National Commander
Etc., etc.

[Paul Creed III]

I have used these coins and I had Vanguard make a coin from the new emblem I had created for my group back when I was a group commander.

[Майор Хаткевич]

Still my favorite: 
https://imgur.com/a/akDdAfT

[FlyingPig]

I spent 11 years in the military (Marines, Army and USAF) 23 years as a cop, and of that, 5 years overlapping as a FL Wildland firefighter/Deputy Sheriff and in CAP off and on since 1986.  I have not a single time ever seen anyone "challenged" or a coin used for anything other than collecting or being given as a type of award.  It's a fun idea, but in almost 35 years of Military, CAP, EMS and Public Safety, I've never once witnessed that back story of slapping it down at a bar ever come in play. If you do it in public, you'll just get an eyebrow raise.

[Eclipse]

If you do it in public, you'll just get an eyebrow raise.

It's 100% dependent on the room.

As someone who has personally designed, minted, and presented, literally hundreds,
probably in the thousands of coins, there are some places that would have no idea what
you're doing, and others I've been challenged regularly.

It's iffy in CAP because of the cadet aspect related to alcohol, but that's not
the only thing people drink, or the only reason people challenge.

Of course the other side is the whole "ranking thing", which I never thought was a
thing - "general's coin is higher then a Captain's", etc. where I have seen cadets pull
out a ziplock back of coins like Pokemon cards.

The ones that warm the heart are the well-worn faded ones that you know have
been in a pocket since presentation.

[FlyingPig]

What venues are you in that people are slapping down challenge coins?

[Eclipse]

What venues are you in that people are slapping down challenge coins?

Wing conferences, Starbucks, encampments, pizza places, mission base, unit meetings...

It's not with random people, obviously, but I have non-CAP friends in
FD and LEAs who carry them as well.

Often it's just a coin-check with nobody buying anything.

If you're in with a crowd you know should have theirs, then it's fair game.

[ML07]

What venues are you in that people are slapping down challenge coins?

Wing conferences, Starbucks, encampments, pizza places, mission base, unit meetings...

Managed to get two at my basic ENC year and a few from meeting folks at missions/meetings. A few SAREXs ago we had a team from CAP-USAF come down, super cool guys to talk too and I got two from guys on the team from their AF units. Unrelated, but one of them helped me get an internship at a pretty cool place.

For me, it represents networking and just introducing yourself to someone.

[Shuman 14]

The only time I was ever coined in my 34+ years of Service was when I was attending the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy Basic Officers' Course in 1998.

The Lead Drill Instructor, Randy Davis, was a prior Service Marine and he would coin check all Marines in the class. If you didn't have a Marine Corps coin of some kind on your person at all times you were doing pushups. Good times.   

[FlyingPig]

The only time I was ever coined in my 34+ years of Service was when I was attending the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy Basic Officers' Course in 1998.

The Lead Drill Instructor, Randy Davis, was a prior Service Marine and he would coin check all Marines in the class. If you didn't have a Marine Corps coin of some kind on your person at all times you were doing pushups. Good times.   

A tradition I never once seen happen. My life has been meaningless.   I spent 8 years in the Infantry and never even saw coins handed out.  But thats what police academies do. Some instructor finds something fun and dwells on it.  I would have said "Well, give me one and Ill carry it around."   

[Stonewall]

Everyone's experience is different.

As a kid/cadet in the late 80's, we'd hang with the local ARNG Special Forces Group (20th SFG out of Camp Blanding, FL). That's where we learned about coins.

Fast forward to my active duty days in the Army, it took me a couple years to earn my unit coin. That was around 1994. Since the 90s, coins have evolved into such commonplace that everyone at every level, every unit, school, and installation has a coin. And look, even every rank in CAP has them.

I probably have more than 100 coins. From unit coins to a couple of Secretaries of Defense. My top three coins with real meaning are my two unit coins from the Army and, for some reason, my NESA cadre coin from when I was Commandant of the Advanced GSAR School there in 1999.

Full transparency: Today, as an Air Force CMSgt and CAP Wing Commander, I have a coin for each position. My Chief's coin literally says, "PRESENTED FOR BADASSERY" on it. I don't award people for "doing a good job", "excellence", or "for outstanding performance", you've got to earn it for doing something "badass".

[foo]

... you've got to earn it for doing something "badass".

I would love to see some examples of CAP "badassery"!

[Stonewall]

... you've got to earn it for doing something "badass".

I would love to see some examples of CAP "badassery"!

It's not a CAP coin, it's for airmen in the Air Force who demonstrate Badassery.

[NIN]

Wing conferences, Starbucks, encampments, pizza places, mission base, unit meetings...

What the heck kind of pizza places are you going to, Bob?

I been to one world's fair, a picnic, and a rodeo and I haven't been coined out in the wild in about 30 years...
 

[Eclipse]

What the heck kind pizza places are you going to, Bob?

Well, for starters I don't think NH actually makes anything that
can legally be classified as "pizza", so the confusion is understandable.

PROTIP: One way to get checked is to occasionally start the challenge,
then people get the idea.

PROTIP 2: I wouldn't suggest starting out the first time at a Trader Joe's coffee bar
if you're there by yourself.

FWIW, can confirm Stonewall's Wing King coin is very nice and borders on the "coasteresque" size-wise.

[NIN]

FWIW, can confirm Stonewall's Wing King coin is very nice and borders on the "coasteresque" size-wise.

Quoting out of order here, because this is relevant. Pete's coin is so much bigger



So much so that I had to get an entirely new coin rack (left) to accommodate it and a few other "big-uns"



Back to the quoting at hand..

Well, for starters I don't think NH actually makes anything that
can legally be classified as "pizza", so the confusion is understandable.

We are in somewhat violent agreement here.  Remember, I was brought up on Midwestern pizza. That oily, floppy mess that I often find out here is just ... crass.

PROTIP: One way to get checked is to occasionally start the challenge,
then people get the idea.

PROTIP 2: I wouldn't suggest starting out the first time at a Trader Joe's coffee bar
if you're there by yourself.

Well, I haven't actively coin-checked someone in a long, long time.  After the first few (dozen) times, it becomes irksome, if I'm being fair.

About as irksome as spending time around fighter pilots and having to constantly say "so to speak." 

Slightly less irksome than that old skydiving tradition where when someone uses the F-word, everybody shouts "beer!" (Get your minds out of the gutter: the word is "first". As in "that was my first cutaway" or "That was my first time jumping out of a Twin Otter")

Your Trader Joe's has a coffee bar? How ... bougie.

[Paul Creed III]

I was checked by a cadet (whose dad was a C-5 driver) while transporting my unit's drill team to region competition years ago when we stopped for lunch or dinner in Dayton. I started carrying one of my coins onward after that.

[Майор Хаткевич]

I knew not to show up at Encampment without the proper coin when Eclipse was around. 

[TheSkyHornet]

Some senior members really need to remember that they aren't in competition with cadets.

I've seen senior members throw down with cadets using coins they bought at air shows. I know of a member who has a coin from the SECDEF who has challenged cadets to produce a higher-level coin. What value does that have? Is it even inspiring at that point?

I have a coin from a member who gave me two coins at the same time in two different styles, telling me "this is the old one, and this is the new one." I have a coin from a member who said "For whatever great things I'm sure you're going to do in the future." Really taking away the meaning of the entire concept there.

I don't rattle around with pockets filled with coins. Mine are in a drawer. My son has his coins displayed on a coin rack in his bedroom.

When someone walks up to me and starts showcasing their coins, I'm polite and act like I care. When I get coin checked, I say Congratulations, you got me and move on.

Back to the OP—
Our unit has traditionally presented coins for cadet milestone achievements and senior member promotions. It's a nice gesture, and it's something tangible to show off as part of a ceremony to entice others to keep moving in a positive direction. The little CAP-isms can go a long way to boost motivation for people that really do dedicate a lot of their personal time, often not on themselves.